


The Best First Date Ever - Considering It's Flu Season

by akimikono



Series: Tumblr Requests [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, First Dates, Genma is a sweetheart, Genma is still a flirt, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Reader-Insert, Ruined First Dates, or the flu, reader has a cold, sick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-20
Updated: 2017-10-20
Packaged: 2019-01-20 03:55:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12424521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/akimikono/pseuds/akimikono
Summary: Genma Shiranui asks you out and you can't believe your luck - especially when you fall ill the day of and have to cancel the date. But rescheduling is better than having him see you all crusty and snotty, right? Right?!(Tumblr request from litkatkim)





	The Best First Date Ever - Considering It's Flu Season

**Author's Note:**

> This was a one-shot scenario request from litkatkim on Tumblr.

 

This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. When Genma asked you out two weeks ago you had been so excited that you were near to crying - but you were also incredibly nervous. Genma was one of the most interesting guys you’d ever met, and you felt as if you were the equivalent of a talking potato sack. Not to mention you weren’t even a  _ninja_  so why on earth he’d even bother with a civilian was beyond you. Someone of his caliber should really be looking for a girl just as strong and knowledgeable and brave and  _outgoing_ as him. (You’d barely managed to squeak out a “yes” when he asked you to dinner, and it took every ounce of strength just to look him in the eyes when he spoke to you.) He must’ve read the confusion on your face because almost immediately after asking you out, he said:

“You know, you’re really cute when you act shy. And I figured if I didn’t ask you out, we’d never get anywhere.”

You’d thought about that for the last fortnight, your face bright red and a shy giggle falling from your lips whenever his face appeared in your mind. But among the excitement was a bit of fear and the typical insecurity you often faced. You’d never really gone on a date before and certainly had never been asked out by someone like Genma. He’d suggested something simple - just a small dinner at a curry shop outside of the village. He said it was a cute little place and he was sure you’d like it because it was out of the way and few people went all the way out there to eat. It was nice of him to think of you like that, but there was still so much pressure. Would you like the food there? What if it was too spicy? What if he thought you ate too much? Or not enough? The thought of someone watching you eat was a little overwhelming. And what if - did you dare to even entertain this thought so early in the relationship? - what if at the end of the night he tried to kiss you?  _What if he kissed you and you had curry breath?_ You’d absolutely die on the spot.

Unfortunately, stressing out for the last fourteen days had done the exact opposite of helping your health and you woke up the day of the date with a sore throat, runny nose, and pounding headache. You had somehow stressed yourself into a  _cold_ , and now you were even more miserable than before. (Of course it surely had  _nothing_  to do with the fact that you’d left open the bedroom window the night before and had kicked off your blanket in the middle of the night…)

“I can’t go on a date l-like this,” you shuddered, pulling a thick woolen blanket over your shoulders and sneezing into a tissue. “I can’t l-let him see me like this.”

Forlornly, you looked towards the clock hanging on the wall and your heart dropped. It was already noon; six hours until you were supposed to meet Genma at the gates so he could walk you to the restaurant. This wasn’t good. It’s not like you could take some magic pill to get better immediately, and you were certain that if you decided to go on the date then something mortifying would happen - you’d sneeze on him, or go into a coughing fit while eating, or you’d get  _him_  sick. You couldn’t risk it - not when you’d somehow managed to grab his attention in the first place. You weren’t going to ruin it by being grossly sick all over him in a restaurant. There was only one option, and it killed you to even think of it.

You’d have to cancel the date.

It’d be a lie to say you didn’t cry for a few moments as you convinced yourself that it’s what was best. Did you want to cancel the date or did you want to show up and gross him out?

Gathering whatever remaining strength you had, you dug your phone out of your sweatpants pocket and went through your list of contacts before you found Genma’s number. He’d given it to you when he asked you out, but you hadn’t texted him before. Would your first text to him really be canceling the date? Sometimes the universe sucked.

Steadying your hands enough to text out a legible message, you pressed send and waited with bated breath, the pressure behind your eyes and in the bridge of your nose growing.

_Genma - can’t make it. im sick. rain check?_

It wasn’t good to sit there and wait so you placed your phone on the farthest part of the coffee table and curled up on the couch, feeling awful. Everything was starting to ache and you weren’t sure what you should do to feel better. Going to the hospital was out of the question - you weren’t  _dying_ , you just had a cold. And you didn’t want to be a burden on anybody else by asking them to come over and take care of you. So you were stuck with the only solution - suffer alone until you were better.

Your heart jumped at the sudden buzzing of your phone vibrating on the table and you leapt up to grab it, hands shaking as you eagerly read the message from Genma.

_That sucks. We’ll reschedule. Hope u feel better soon_

He hoped you felt better soon?! That was so nice of him! Before you could finish gushing over the simple text, a second one came through.

_Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help_

Your fingers moved quickly to type that he didn’t have to do anything, but then you stopped. He was asking - offering - to help you through this dreadful time. Would it be ruder to accept his invitation and possibly get him sick, or to decline it and spare him the vision of you stuffed up and snotty? It really didn’t matter if you were at a restaurant or at home, you  _didn’t want_  him to witness you blowing your nose or hacking or just looking like you’d crawled out some Pit Of Disgusting. You hated to admit it, but you got kind of whiny whenever you were ill and it was pretty embarrassing. With a little bit of heartache, you finished the text and sent it.

_No, that’s okay - thx tho. I appreciate it_

Almost immediately, another response sent your phone buzzing in your hands.

_Anything for you ;)_

You vaulted the phone away quickly, your body instantly burning hot, a surprised laugh escaping your mouth. “Wh-What? What was that?” you wheezed, pulling the blanket up to your face and staring in elation at the phone now lying on the floor across the room. “He - He put a - a winking face! What does th-that mean? Does he … oh my gosh.” Hiding under the blanket, you allowed yourself to giggle childishly and closed your eyes tight. Genma’s perfect face was there - a smile gracing his features.  _He put a winking face!_  That was good, right? And he’d said “anything for you”.  _Anything_  for you. Anything for  _you_. How did he mean it? Would he really do anything for you? Your stomach growled and you grimaced; maybe you should have asked him to bring you something to eat …

The phone buzzed again and you practically threw yourself across the room to grab it, scrambling to clutch it close your face and read the message.

_U allergic to anything?_

Confused, you reread the message and checked to see who it was from. Genma had sent it, that was certain but … Did he think you’d called off the date because you had had an allergic reaction or something? Or - did he think you’d canceled the date because you were allergic to curry? You were legitimately sick and this boy thought you were skipping out because you didn’t like his taste in food?

_No - im good. Not curry!! hahaha I was looking forward to eating there /:_

That was good enough, right? Assure him that you weren’t avoiding him because of that little restaurant, and that you actually  _did_  want to go with him.

_Same. Oh well. Maybe next week._

Then, a second later:

_What r ur symptoms? Like are u coughing and sneezing? Sore throat? Or something else?_

Was he concerned that your illness would still be there by next week when you actually went on your date? You shifted on the ground, resting on your elbows as you thought over what to say. The point of canceling the date was to keep him from knowing what you were going through at the moment.

You typed slowly, regretting every letter of your text:  _headache, sore throat, runny nose, congestion, sinus, everything hurts!!! ))): I feel like death tbh_

Five minutes passed of absolute silence and your chest twisted in embarrassment. Had you said too much? You knew it - you’d messed this up. No good. Genma would surely ditch you and go for some girl with a perfect immune system who looked absolutely glamorous even when she was suffering, and certainly didn’t complain about it. When another five minutes passed without a response, you pulled yourself back onto the couch and cuddled under your blanket and sighed heavily. Why did it have to happen now?! Today of all days.

The phone buzzed against your chest and you yelped, jolting upwards and dropping it to the ground. Fumbling around for it, you grabbed another tissue from the nearly empty box on the table and dabbed at your sore nose.

_Grape or orange?_

Now this was getting weird. Your response was only:  _what?_

Genma swiftly replied:  _Do you prefer grape or orange? Or cherry??_

_Uh… I don’t … care????? What is this for?_

Instead of answering, he simply asked:  _did u still want to go to the curry place next week? I’ll pick u up next time. What’s ur address?_

Stumped, you stared at the glaring screen in your hands. What was going on? He was acting strange. But your cold-infested brain wasn’t willing to work with you to figure out what he was doing so you merely texted back your address. He stopped responding and you wondered if it was a mistake to tell him where you lived. It was almost one o’clock and your eyes were feeling the weight of your illness. Sniffling into your handful of tissues, you curled up on your side and let yourself fall asleep.

An hour later you were woken up by heavy knocks at your front door. It startled you awake and you rolled off of the couch, dazed and utterly lost as to what was happening. Scrambling to your feet, you wiped drool off of your face and ambled over to the door, your voice croaking in pain as you muttered, “Coming …”

Groggily, you pulled open the door and looked blearily out into the bright world. You shaded your eyes and squinted at the shadowed figure filling your doorway.

“You look as bad as you said you feel,” came a voice.

Your eyes widened and you dropped your hand, finally realizing that it was none other than Genma standing at your door.

“Wh-What are you d-doing here?!” you shouted, throwing your hands up to cover yourself although there was nothing to be covered. You were already dressed in a baggy t-shirt and sweatpants, and although your hair was wild and uncombed and your nose was as red as the swirl on Genma’s jonin jacket, you weren’t indecent. Still it was almost shameful to be standing before such a beautiful man looking like you’d climbed out of a dumpster recently.

“Aren’t you going to invite me in?” Genma asked, a small smirk playing on his lips.

You glanced back at your small apartment and you could almost  _feel_  your cold lingering on the air. He didn’t want to go in there. “Uh … you’ll … you’re gonna get sick -!”

“Don’t worry, I got it covered.” Genma reached into one of the half dozen bags he was carrying and pulled out a white surgical mask, using one hand to maneuver it onto his face. You’d only just now noticed his senbon was nowhere to be seen. “See? Now I won’t catch whatever you have. Heh, do I look like Kakashi now?” 

“What?”

“He … you’re not a ninja. Right. You’ve probably seen him around. Kind of weird … got hair out to  _here_  that’s silver, always has a mask on, always reading that orange book.”

“No, I - I know who you’re talking about. I m-mean … What is all that?” You motioned to the different bags Genma was carrying and he grinned from ear to ear (not that you could see it).

“Well I figured since you weren’t up to going out tonight, we could have a night in. Is that alright?”

“What? Really?”

“Sure.” He held up a few bags with a local market’s logo across it. “This is some medicine - I got three different kinds, since none of them covered all of your symptoms. I also got you some tissues - it sounded like you’d need them.”

You looked away and blushed, trying to stealthily dab at your running nose with a crumpled tissue. “Th-Thanks.”

“No problem. I also got us dinner - or lunch, I guess.” He held up two paper bags from a restaurant you’d passed by before. “I wasn’t entirely sure what you eat, so I got a few different things.” He then shook a few other bags strung along his arm, “And then I grabbed us some drinks. Nothing alcoholic, though. Didn’t think you needed to be tipsy  _and_  sick. I wouldn’t make you wake up tomorrow hungover with a cold.” 

You stared in absolute awe at the man, a happy smile spreading across your face. “W … Wow! That’s so n-nice of you! I d-didn’t think … I thought you’d …”

He cocked an eyebrow and showed you the bags again. “Listen, I appreciate the thanks but  _can_  I come in? I’ve walked all over the village with these.”

“Oh! R-Right. Sorry.” You stepped aside to let him in and he glanced around your apartment.  

“This is cute. You live alone?”

“Y-Yes …”

“Good. I don’t want anyone disturbing our date.” He dropped the bags onto the coffee table and looked back at you. “Actually, I just don’t want to share my food with anyone but you.”

A dry, croaky giggle jumped out of your throat before you could stop it and you covered your face in shame. Genma gave a soft laugh himself and waved you over to the couch.

“Don’t be embarrassed; you’re sick. Come on. I also bought tea leaves to make you something hot to drink, since I’m sure you could use it. Why don’t you put a movie in and I’ll get started on making the tea?”

Defeated, you crumpled to the floor in front of the small media cabinet that your television was sitting on. You only had a few DVDs and you’d watched them all to death, but if picking a movie meant you’d get your date after all then you’d bite your tongue and suck it up. You chose one of the more exciting films - something you’d seen once in the village’s theater and had liked enough to purchase - and pushed the disc into the DVD player. By the time you made it back to your seat on the couch, Genma was arriving with two mugs full of hot tea. He handed you one and your entire body warmed with the heat of the cup. He pushed the edge of your blanket out of the way and sat down next to you, setting aside his cup and digging through the plastic bags on the table.

“Here’s the medicine,” he said as he deposited one bag into your lap and pulled another bag closer.

When you looked through it you found three different flavors of cold syrup - orange, grape, and cherry. So  _that’s_  what he was talking about.

“And here’s the tissues.” He then opened the two paper bags and pulled out steaming take-out cartons. “Just tell me what you want and you can have it.”

Silently, you admired the man beside you as he shuffled around the cartons and set up a line of bottled drinks. He caught your eye and raised an eyebrow, and you could sense the questioning smile hiding behind the surgical mask.

“What?”

“Noth-Nothing!” You held your cup tighter and brought it to your face, breathing in the earthy scent of tea. “I just … really appreciate this. Th-Thank you.”

“No problem. I wasn’t going to pass on an opportunity to go on a date with you. Even if it’s …” He motioned around the apartment and shrugged. “I didn’t really feel like walking all the way out to that curry place tonight anyway.”

Feeling a bit bold, you gave him a serious look (which was made fairly intimidating with the deep bags under your eyes and the raw skin around your nose) and said, “Well don’t think - uhm - that you’ll get out of t-taking me there one day … You promised me a-a date there … and I expect t-to go there.”

Genma pulled down the mask to reveal his broad grin, his eyes locked on yours. “We’ll go when you feel better. Promise.”

You smiled back and pressed the rim of the hot cup to your lips. “You know - you didn’t have to go through all of this for me.”

“I said anything, didn’t I?”

“Huh?”

Genma pulled out a pair of disposable chopsticks and broke them apart, handing you one of the take-out containers. “I said I’d do anything for you, right? I meant it. Mostly. Some things I wouldn’t - … Anything within reason, I guess. This was no bother. This the movie you want to watch?”

He changed the subject so quickly your foggy brain had a hard time keeping up. “Yeah … uhm, thank - thank you.”

Genma gave you a sideways glance and a small smile pulled at his mouth. “You’d better stop talking before you lose your voice. We won’t be able to talk when we go out next week. Then what’ll we do?”

Shrinking into the warmth of the blanket, you nodded. “Uh - oh, well … What if I’m not feeling better by next week?”

“Oh, you will,” Genma said as he relaxed into the couch, kicking his legs up onto the coffee table. “I’m gonna take care of you until you feel better, so you’ll have no excuse for canceling our next date.”

Blushing hotly, you nodded and smiled down into your tea. You were starting to think that maybe being sick wouldn’t be so bad after all.


End file.
